


daydream

by mizzymouse



Category: Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post-AMoL, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 14:42:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5630269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizzymouse/pseuds/mizzymouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rand wanders into an unexpected place and finds a friend he didn't expect to see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	daydream

**Author's Note:**

> For a prompt from @Steel. Originally posted on tumblr. Something cute and fun and short.

Rand didn’t notice the change, since he could no longer reach the Source. It felt calmer, maybe, but everything was so calm now, and he was so deep into a daydream that he didn’t notice what he had walked into until he spotted the first Ogier, a tall woman in a heavily embroidered dress, hauling water from a stream. Giant buckets, each the size of a wine cask, were balanced on a bar across her shoulders. 

He was unsurprised, even then, to find himself in a  _stedding_. He had been thinking about his friend Loial on and off for days now. The Pattern still bent itself to his will, sometimes in subtle ways and sometimes in dramatic ones. This was more subtle. Rand raised a hand in greeting towards the Ogier woman, and she waved back. Human travelers through the  _stedding_ were common now that the Last Battle had ended and the refugees were making their way back to their homes, if they could. The Ogier, even as they rebuilt their own homes, were happy to offer a hot meal and a safe place to sleep for travelers. Rand jogged ahead and fell in beside the woman, content to walk with her in friendly silence until they reached the Ogier settlement. 

The settlement itself was cause for surprise. There were Ogier all around, more than Rand had seen in once place since the Last Battle. Rand shot the Ogier woman a glance, too-blue eyes confused under a furrowed brow. She raised a tuffed eyebrow in response and spoke, voice warm and rumbling. 

“You did not know? Many of the great Speakers are here, and those with any Treesinging ability. They are traveling through the  _steddings_  to check the process of rebuilding and to open the Waygates.”

Rand had heard about the Waygates. With the Dark One sealed away and  _saidin_  cleansed, the Ways had been cleansed and Machin Shin destroyed. The Ogier were attempting to rebuild the damage in the Ways. Treesinging was necessary in this, but the ability had become rare. 

Once they reached the edge of the settlement, Rand and the woman parted ways. He headed towards what could be called the town square, where some of the Speakers appeared to be discussing something of importance. Many had stopped their labors to listen. Rand circled the crowd twice before finding something tall and sturdy to perch on so he could watch the Speakers. While this new body was slightly taller than his old one, he still only made it to the shoulders of most Ogier. 

The partially repaired shop he found had an balcony on the second level that was easy for Rand to climb to with its masonry, a scene of birds in flight, only partially carved. Once he could see through the crowd to where the Speakers stood, one of the tall figures caught his eye. He wore his hair differently now, and his long coat was more heavily ornamented, but it was definitely Loial. He spoke with a confidence he had once lacked, but his booming voice was familiar and comforting to Rand. Had Loial finished writing that book he was working on? Had anyone told him of the events in that cave, high on Shayol Ghul? Rand hadn’t seen him since right before the Last Battle. 

The Speakers’ discussion - on some small issue of construction methods - ended after about an hour, after a decision had been reached. As the Ogier departed, the workers walking off in clusters, Loial’s gaze found Rand on his balcony perch. Rand waved, presuming the Ogier recognized him, climbed down, and strode off calmly into a secluded clearing behind a cluster of buildings. Only his intuition told him that Loial was following; Ogier were surprisingly quiet for their size. When he reached the clearing and turned, leaning heavily on the walking staff that he carried, Loial was practically bouncing, eyes alight with glee and unasked questions. He did ask one, but in a bumblebee’s whisper. 

“Rand?”

The dark-haired man smiled. “Yes, Loial, it’s me. Who told you?”

“Who told me what?”

“That I was alive.”

“Nobody told me. Who would have told me? I saw your funeral pyre, but I knew it was you when I spotted you. Your eyes are the same.”

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me. Everything else is so different, though. Whoever Elan had acquired this body from favored his left hand, and snorted when he laughed.” Just to punctuate this, Rand chuckled, the outburst finishing with a loud snort. He pushed himself upright, off his staff, and walked over to Loial. Grabbing his friend softly on the arm, he smiled up at him. Loial smiled back, his mouth dividing his broad face. 

“So, how is your book coming? I’ve heard Mat has a copy, but nobody else has gotten ahold of it.”

Loial looked like a dam ready to burst. He had so many questions, but he answered Rand’s first. Rand would stay for a day, maybe two, but in the meantime it was nice to catch up on what was happening in the world, and to trade stories with an old friend. 

**Author's Note:**

> I don't beta (or really edit) these short things, so if you find a typo let me know.


End file.
